 |
The Re-institution of an Upper Division Undergraduate Introductory Laboratory Courseby James Hazzard, PhD
An exciting event took place in the fall of 2001, when the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics re-instituted an upper division undergraduate introductory laboratory course, entitled Biochemical Laboratory Techniques (BIOC 463A). The course is directed primarily at Biochemistry undergraduate majors who either have taken or are concurrently enrolled in the Department's lecture courses, BIOC 462 and 462H. A primary goal of the course is to introduce students to a broad spectrum of fundamental laboratory techniques and methodologies that are necessary to study biochemical systems, and that they are likely to encounter in their undergraduate research projects, either as participants in the UBRP program, or during their Senior Research Thesis project. A second, and equally important, goal is to help students develop the ability to critically analyze and interpret data that they obtain from their experiments. It is hoped that in the process of analyzing their data, the concepts and theories that students have learned in the lecture portion of the lab course, as well as those learned in the BIOC 462 lecture courses, will be directly applied to understanding its significance. A third, and very important, goal of the course is to help foster a sense of the fun and excitement that goes along with doing research in biochemistry.
The course, which is designed to be intensive, intellectually stimulating, and thorough, meets twice weekly and consists of a one-hour lecture that precedes a three-hour lab exercise. The purpose of the lecture is to introduce the students to the theory behind the techniques, practical aspects about performing the techniques, and important laboratory safety issues. During the first half of the semester students are introduced to a wide range of basic biochemical techniques and methods including:
In the second half of the semester, students make use of these techniques and methodologies in order to purify and study an E. coli enzyme, alkaline phosphatase. Included in these latter investigations are steady-state enzyme kinetics, competitive product inhibition, and the kinetics of EDTA-induced enzyme inactivation. A second topic covered in the latter half of the semester is the use of enzymes for a variety of analytical and diagnostic purposes, including coupled enzyme assays. These experiments are directly related to lecture material covered in the spring semester Metabolism course (BIOC 462B).
Currently, the course uses the textbook, "Fundamental Laboratory Approaches for Biochemistry and Biotechnology", authored by Professors Alexander Ninfa and David Ballou. However, approximately 60% of the experiment protocols have been developed by the course's instructional staff in order to meet the Department's educational goals for the course, to make optimal use of high precision instrumentation that has been purchased for the course, and to draw upon the expertise and facilities of a variety of research labs within the Department and the University. For instance, in the Fall 2002 semester, a new Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics module was added with the assistance of Dr. Linda Breci, who is associated with the Mass Spectrometry Facility in the Department of Chemistry. Development of these protocols is an ongoing process, with substantial improvements being made each semester. Ultimately, the Department hopes to develop its own laboratory manual. The material covered in the course can be accessed at the course website: www.biochem.arizona.edu/classes/bioc463a/463a.html The benefits that are gained by participating in BIOC 463A can be best expressed by the students themselves. Katie Clark, a Biochemistry Senior wrote: "Biochemistry 463A helped me greatly to prepare for working in a research laboratory. When I began work on my senior thesis, I had already been exposed to many of the procedures that I needed to use, as well as the rationale behind using them. The classroom format of BIOC 463A reduced the pressure that I have felt in other undergraduate labs to complete the work very quickly, without stopping to learn why we were doing the experiment." The course's current G.T.A., Emily Dysktra, who is a Masters candidate, stated: "BIOC 463A was a great help to me in my laboratory research…in reinforcing the basic laboratory techniques that I use on a daily basis. The class was also instrumental in my overall development as a scientist, because in class we discussed why and how experiments were to be carried out. These kinds of discussions are essential to the development of the critical thinking skills that all scientists use in their research". And finally, Steven Carey, who is currently enrolled in BIOC 463A, explains how the course has been beneficial to him: "BIOC 463A has helped me to understand how a biochemist uses all the tools he has in his toolbox. Although many of the techniques that Dr. Hazzard teaches were not new to me, I only knew the protocols and never really grasped the theory behind these techniques. After taking this class, I understand the chemistry on which the techniques are founded and can apply them to my cancer research".
Biological
Sciences West |
|
